Dusky wireworm
Agriotes obscurus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedbeetles
The dusky wireworm (Agriotes obscurus) is a species in the family Elateridae, order Coleoptera. Recorded adults reach 8.75 mm in length.
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Quick facts about the dusky wireworm
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 8.75 mmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the dusky wireworm?
What eats the dusky wireworm?
Species recorded in published studies and collections.
Recorded predators of the dusky wireworm
2 on record
- Cucumber green spider Araniella cucurbitina2 sources
- Allagelena gracilens2 sources
Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).
References for these records
- @article{Hines_2019, doi = {10.1002/ecy.2679}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fecy.2679}, year = 2019, month = {mar}, publisher = {Wiley}, pages = {e02679}, author = {Jes Hines and Darren P. Giling and Michael Rzanny and Winfried Voigt and Sebastian T. Meyer and Wolfgang W. Weisser and Nico Eisenha
- Poelen, J. H. Global Biotic Interactions: Interpreted Data Products. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5708970 (2021).
Where does the dusky wireworm live?
Not recorded
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the dusky wireworm as introduced in 1 country.
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
Is the dusky wireworm endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the dusky wireworm classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderColeoptera
- familyElateridae
- genusAgriotes
- SpeciesAgriotes obscurus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Elater obscurus
Other names and names in other languages (15)
- kovařík tmavýCzech
- KornsmælderDanish
- Almindelig sædsmælderDanish
- Mørk kornsmælderDanish
- tummaviljaseppäFinnish
- Taupin obscurFrench
- sötét pattanóHungarian
- Tamsusis DirvaspragšisLithuanian
- åkersmellerNorwegian Bokmål
- Donkere akkerkniptorDutch
- osiewnik ciemnyPolish
- Щелкун посевной тёмныйRussian
- kováčik tmavýSlovak
- mörk sädesknäppareSwedish
- Pamuk TelkurduTurkish
Relatives of the dusky wireworm
Other species in the same genus Agriotes.
Lined click beetle
Agriotes lineatus
Spitting click beetle
Agriotes sputator
Wheat wireworm
Agriotes mancus
Western click beetle
Agriotes ustulatus
Dark click beetle
Agriotes fucosus
Rusty click beetle
Agriotes ferrugineipennis
CompareDusky wireworm vs Lined click beetleDusky wireworm vs Spitting click beetleDusky wireworm vs Wheat wirewormDusky wireworm vs Western click beetle
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the dusky wireworm?
An adult dusky wireworm measures 8.75 mm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the dusky wireworm an invasive species?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the dusky wireworm as introduced in 1 country: United States, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.
What kind of animal is the dusky wireworm?
The dusky wireworm (Agriotes obscurus) belongs to the family Elateridae in the order Coleoptera.
What eats the dusky wireworm?
Animals recorded preying on the dusky wireworm include cucumber green spider and allagelena gracilens. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products · CC0 1.0 · 0.11
Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference. - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Dusky wireworm (Agriotes obscurus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-wireworm
“Dusky wireworm (Agriotes obscurus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-wireworm.
@misc{dusky_wireworm_2026,
title = {Dusky wireworm (Agriotes obscurus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-wireworm},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}